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| 2020 Tables and Figures | All Years of Tables and Figures | Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest |
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| Table 503.20. | Percentage of college students 16 to 24 years old who were employed, by attendance status, hours worked per week, and control and level of institution: Selected years, October 1970 through 2019 |
| [Standard errors appear in parentheses] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control and level of institution and year | Full-time students | Part-time students | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percent employed1 | Hours worked per week2 | Percent employed1 | Hours worked per week2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Less than 20 hours | 20 to 34 hours | 35 or more hours | Less than 20 hours | 20 to 34 hours | 35 or more hours | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total, all institutions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1970 | 33.8 | (0.88) | 19.0 | (0.73) | 10.4 | (0.57) | 3.7 | (0.35) | 82.1 | (1.81) | 5.0 | (1.03) | 15.9 | (1.72) | 60.1 | (2.31) | ||||||||
| 1975 | 35.3 | (0.83) | 18.0 | (0.67) | 12.0 | (0.56) | 4.6 | (0.36) | 80.8 | (1.55) | 6.0 | (0.94) | 19.4 | (1.56) | 52.6 | (1.97) | ||||||||
| 1980 | 40.0 | (0.84) | 21.3 | (0.70) | 14.0 | (0.59) | 3.9 | (0.33) | 84.7 | (1.38) | 7.9 | (1.04) | 22.5 | (1.60) | 52.7 | (1.91) | ||||||||
| 1985 | 44.2 | (0.88) | 21.7 | (0.73) | 17.3 | (0.67) | 4.3 | (0.36) | 85.9 | (1.41) | 5.7 | (0.94) | 26.9 | (1.80) | 52.2 | (2.03) | ||||||||
| 1990 | 45.7 | (0.89) | 20.6 | (0.73) | 19.3 | (0.71) | 4.8 | (0.38) | 83.7 | (1.50) | 4.0 | (0.80) | 26.0 | (1.78) | 52.7 | (2.03) | ||||||||
1991 |
47.2 | (0.88) | 20.9 | (0.72) | 19.8 | (0.70) | 5.6 | (0.41) | 85.9 | (1.45) | 8.2 | (1.15) | 25.4 | (1.82) | 51.0 | (2.09) | ||||||||
| 1992 | 47.2 | (0.87) | 20.3 | (0.70) | 20.3 | (0.70) | 5.5 | (0.40) | 83.4 | (1.50) | 7.5 | (1.06) | 27.2 | (1.79) | 47.8 | (2.01) | ||||||||
| 1993 | 46.3 | (0.89) | 20.8 | (0.72) | 19.5 | (0.71) | 5.1 | (0.39) | 84.6 | (1.43) | 8.5 | (1.10) | 31.4 | (1.84) | 43.7 | (1.96) | ||||||||
| 1994 | 48.6 | (0.87) | 20.1 | (0.70) | 21.7 | (0.72) | 5.8 | (0.41) | 86.3 | (1.28) | 9.8 | (1.10) | 31.1 | (1.72) | 43.8 | (1.84) | ||||||||
| 1995 | 47.2 | (0.87) | 19.1 | (0.69) | 20.3 | (0.70) | 6.5 | (0.43) | 82.9 | (1.45) | 8.6 | (1.08) | 30.4 | (1.77) | 42.3 | (1.90) | ||||||||
1996 |
49.2 | (0.88) | 18.2 | (0.68) | 22.3 | (0.74) | 7.0 | (0.45) | 84.8 | (1.47) | 8.3 | (1.13) | 27.5 | (1.83) | 48.0 | (2.05) | ||||||||
| 1997 | 47.8 | (0.86) | 18.3 | (0.67) | 21.4 | (0.71) | 7.4 | (0.45) | 84.4 | (1.46) | 9.4 | (1.17) | 26.2 | (1.77) | 47.7 | (2.01) | ||||||||
| 1998 | 50.2 | (0.86) | 20.2 | (0.69) | 20.6 | (0.70) | 8.0 | (0.47) | 84.1 | (1.45) | 7.0 | (1.01) | 26.8 | (1.76) | 49.3 | (1.98) | ||||||||
| 1999 | 50.4 | (0.86) | 19.0 | (0.68) | 22.3 | (0.72) | 7.8 | (0.46) | 82.3 | (1.55) | 6.2 | (0.98) | 28.8 | (1.85) | 45.9 | (2.03) | ||||||||
| 2000 | 52.0 | (0.86) | 20.1 | (0.69) | 21.7 | (0.71) | 8.9 | (0.49) | 84.9 | (1.38) | 8.6 | (1.08) | 27.8 | (1.73) | 47.5 | (1.93) | ||||||||
2001 |
47.1 | (0.80) | 17.4 | (0.61) | 20.6 | (0.65) | 7.9 | (0.43) | 84.4 | (1.29) | 8.0 | (0.97) | 25.8 | (1.56) | 48.9 | (1.78) | ||||||||
| 2002 | 47.8 | (0.78) | 17.3 | (0.59) | 20.9 | (0.64) | 8.5 | (0.44) | 78.9 | (1.51) | 8.7 | (1.04) | 25.3 | (1.61) | 43.4 | (1.84) | ||||||||
| 2003 | 47.7 | (0.78) | 17.1 | (0.59) | 20.7 | (0.63) | 8.8 | (0.44) | 79.0 | (1.44) | 7.8 | (0.95) | 27.2 | (1.58) | 42.8 | (1.75) | ||||||||
| 2004 | 49.0 | (0.76) | 17.7 | (0.58) | 21.6 | (0.62) | 8.6 | (0.43) | 81.5 | (1.44) | 8.5 | (1.04) | 27.4 | (1.66) | 44.1 | (1.84) | ||||||||
| 2005 | 49.1 | (0.75) | 17.8 | (0.58) | 21.1 | (0.61) | 9.0 | (0.43) | 85.0 | (1.30) | 10.2 | (1.10) | 27.1 | (1.62) | 47.1 | (1.82) | ||||||||
2006 |
46.5 | (0.76) | 15.1 | (0.55) | 22.0 | (0.63) | 8.1 | (0.42) | 81.0 | (1.41) | 7.3 | (0.94) | 27.6 | (1.61) | 45.5 | (1.80) | ||||||||
| 2007 | 45.5 | (0.74) | 15.4 | (0.54) | 20.7 | (0.60) | 8.7 | (0.42) | 81.2 | (1.39) | 6.8 | (0.90) | 27.2 | (1.59) | 45.9 | (1.78) | ||||||||
| 2008 | 45.3 | (0.72) | 15.6 | (0.53) | 20.1 | (0.58) | 8.7 | (0.41) | 79.4 | (1.51) | 9.3 | (1.09) | 24.7 | (1.61) | 44.4 | (1.86) | ||||||||
| 2009 | 40.6 | (0.69) | 15.6 | (0.51) | 17.6 | (0.54) | 6.2 | (0.34) | 76.2 | (1.57) | 10.1 | (1.11) | 27.5 | (1.65) | 36.9 | (1.78) | ||||||||
| 2010 | 39.8 | (1.01) | 14.9 | (0.57) | 17.2 | (0.77) | 6.6 | (0.46) | 73.4 | (2.03) | 10.7 | (1.24) | 28.3 | (1.92) | 32.8 | (2.19) | ||||||||
2011 |
41.3 | (0.94) | 15.8 | (0.67) | 17.4 | (0.66) | 7.0 | (0.44) | 75.5 | (1.93) | 9.7 | (1.21) | 28.4 | (1.99) | 35.5 | (2.16) | ||||||||
| 2012 | 41.0 | (0.83) | 15.1 | (0.72) | 17.8 | (0.71) | 7.2 | (0.44) | 71.7 | (2.07) | 9.0 | (1.27) | 29.5 | (2.09) | 32.1 | (2.07) | ||||||||
| 2013 | 39.5 | (1.00) | 14.0 | (0.67) | 18.5 | (0.77) | 6.6 | (0.50) | 75.7 | (2.06) | 10.5 | (1.44) | 28.7 | (1.76) | 35.4 | (2.11) | ||||||||
| 2014 | 41.3 | (0.97) | 15.6 | (0.69) | 17.9 | (0.80) | 6.6 | (0.48) | 80.3 | (1.81) | 13.8 | (1.58) | 26.9 | (2.33) | 38.5 | (2.36) | ||||||||
| 2015 | 39.5 | (0.98) | 15.6 | (0.77) | 16.1 | (0.75) | 6.7 | (0.56) | 75.3 | (2.33) | 10.5 | (1.48) | 32.2 | (2.67) | 31.7 | (2.15) | ||||||||
2016 |
39.7 | (0.99) | 15.5 | (0.71) | 16.6 | (0.72) | 6.6 | (0.55) | 79.2 | (2.18) | 10.8 | (1.55) | 31.4 | (2.35) | 36.0 | (2.21) | ||||||||
| 2017 | 41.1 | (1.10) | 15.6 | (0.76) | 17.2 | (0.81) | 7.1 | (0.54) | 82.2 | (1.78) | 11.0 | (1.45) | 34.3 | (2.19) | 35.8 | (2.32) | ||||||||
| 2018 | 39.7 | (0.99) | 14.6 | (0.69) | 16.7 | (0.82) | 7.5 | (0.52) | 79.6 | (2.01) | 10.4 | (1.44) | 30.3 | (2.18) | 37.1 | (2.20) | ||||||||
| 2019 | 42.2 | (1.08) | 15.0 | (0.79) | 17.5 | (0.75) | 8.3 | (0.61) | 85.5 | (1.75) | 9.3 | (1.44) | 35.1 | (2.28) | 40.0 | (2.55) | ||||||||
Public 4-year institutions |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990 | 43.0 | (1.18) | 19.8 | (0.95) | 18.6 | (0.93) | 3.7 | (0.45) | 87.4 | (2.25) | 4.2 | ! | (1.37) | 27.9 | (3.05) | 54.7 | (3.39) | |||||||
| 1995 | 48.8 | (1.16) | 19.4 | (0.92) | 22.6 | (0.97) | 5.6 | (0.53) | 86.7 | (2.08) | 9.6 | (1.80) | 30.8 | (2.83) | 45.0 | (3.05) | ||||||||
| 2000 | 50.5 | (1.15) | 19.1 | (0.90) | 21.5 | (0.94) | 9.0 | (0.66) | 87.3 | (1.91) | 8.5 | (1.60) | 26.4 | (2.53) | 50.9 | (2.87) | ||||||||
| 2005 | 49.6 | (0.99) | 17.8 | (0.76) | 22.7 | (0.83) | 8.0 | (0.54) | 86.3 | (1.90) | 9.0 | (1.58) | 26.8 | (2.45) | 49.7 | (2.76) | ||||||||
| 2010 | 40.8 | (1.27) | 15.2 | (0.88) | 18.0 | (0.93) | 6.6 | (0.64) | 70.4 | (3.58) | 10.5 | (2.04) | 26.9 | (2.82) | 32.1 | (3.59) | ||||||||
2012 |
41.0 | (1.13) | 14.9 | (0.95) | 18.6 | (0.99) | 6.7 | (0.57) | 77.6 | (3.20) | 9.9 | (2.41) | 28.0 | (3.44) | 38.8 | (3.36) | ||||||||
| 2013 | 40.1 | (1.31) | 13.9 | (0.88) | 19.2 | (0.98) | 6.6 | (0.63) | 78.8 | (2.88) | 9.8 | (1.94) | 26.6 | (2.80) | 41.1 | (3.84) | ||||||||
| 2014 | 41.1 | (1.31) | 14.6 | (0.91) | 18.4 | (0.99) | 6.9 | (0.69) | 83.4 | (2.86) | 12.2 | (2.61) | 28.4 | (3.69) | 42.3 | (3.81) | ||||||||
| 2015 | 39.5 | (1.32) | 14.9 | (0.98) | 16.5 | (1.01) | 6.6 | (0.73) | 76.9 | (3.39) | 10.1 | (2.01) | 30.4 | (3.84) | 34.8 | (3.38) | ||||||||
| 2016 | 39.7 | (1.27) | 15.0 | (0.81) | 16.8 | (0.95) | 6.9 | (0.72) | 81.9 | (3.00) | 11.6 | (2.10) | 32.6 | (3.67) | 36.7 | (3.33) | ||||||||
2017 |
39.8 | (1.28) | 14.7 | (0.81) | 16.3 | (0.91) | 7.4 | (0.69) | 85.1 | (2.21) | 8.8 | (1.97) | 37.2 | (3.24) | 38.0 | (3.47) | ||||||||
| 2018 | 39.8 | (1.21) | 14.3 | (0.90) | 17.4 | (1.02) | 7.3 | (0.63) | 84.5 | (2.74) | 9.2 | (2.16) | 29.3 | (3.26) | 42.9 | (3.52) | ||||||||
| 2019 | 42.3 | (1.42) | 15.8 | (1.07) | 17.0 | (0.92) | 8.3 | (0.73) | 83.4 | (2.96) | 7.8 | (1.77) | 31.7 | (3.62) | 42.6 | (4.21) | ||||||||
Private 4-year institutions |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990 | 38.1 | (1.89) | 24.0 | (1.66) | 9.9 | (1.17) | 3.5 | (0.72) | 89.9 | (4.27) | ‡ | (†) | 31.9 | (6.62) | 53.1 | (7.09) | ||||||||
| 1995 | 38.6 | (1.78) | 21.6 | (1.51) | 10.7 | (1.13) | 4.6 | (0.77) | 80.1 | (4.85) | 14.9 | (4.32) | 26.8 | (5.38) | 36.5 | (5.84) | ||||||||
| 2000 | 45.8 | (1.88) | 23.6 | (1.60) | 14.9 | (1.34) | 5.4 | (0.85) | 78.0 | (5.36) | ‡ | (†) | 18.5 | (5.02) | 52.6 | (6.46) | ||||||||
| 2005 | 42.3 | (1.64) | 20.1 | (1.33) | 13.8 | (1.15) | 7.0 | (0.85) | 88.5 | (3.32) | 10.6 | ! | (3.20) | 34.5 | (4.94) | 43.2 | (5.15) | |||||||
| 2010 | 35.6 | (2.37) | 15.7 | (1.63) | 12.2 | (1.52) | 6.0 | (1.08) | 78.6 | (7.00) | ‡ | (†) | 23.4 | ! | (7.49) | 45.6 | (9.01) | |||||||
2012 |
40.4 | (2.39) | 19.9 | (1.80) | 12.2 | (1.40) | 6.7 | (1.13) | 84.4 | (5.35) | 9.5 | ! | (4.53) | 33.9 | (6.58) | 36.9 | (7.38) | |||||||
| 2013 | 34.0 | (2.27) | 14.9 | (1.55) | 12.8 | (1.33) | 5.6 | (1.13) | 86.9 | (4.71) | 21.9 | (6.40) | 29.8 | (7.01) | 35.2 | (6.56) | ||||||||
| 2014 | 37.8 | (2.29) | 18.7 | (1.72) | 12.0 | (1.62) | 5.3 | (1.00) | 77.1 | (6.82) | 12.9 | ! | (4.92) | 13.5 | ! | (5.59) | 50.8 | (8.76) | ||||||
| 2015 | 32.8 | (2.49) | 18.5 | (1.86) | 8.3 | (1.40) | 5.7 | (1.20) | 73.8 | (8.30) | 10.4 | ! | (4.68) | 17.8 | ! | (5.73) | 45.6 | (8.91) | ||||||
| 2016 | 34.8 | (2.20) | 17.2 | (1.73) | 11.0 | (1.20) | 5.4 | (0.94) | 75.6 | (8.00) | ‡ | (†) | 13.4 | ! | (5.72) | 53.3 | (8.65) | |||||||
2017 |
37.7 | (2.41) | 19.7 | (2.09) | 12.4 | (1.69) | 4.7 | (1.09) | 78.3 | (7.39) | ‡ | (†) | 29.5 | (7.41) | 41.5 | (9.13) | ||||||||
| 2018 | 33.2 | (2.39) | 17.7 | (1.84) | 8.3 | (1.27) | 6.3 | (1.20) | 81.5 | (6.11) | 15.8 | ! | (5.15) | 21.2 | ! | (6.62) | 41.9 | (7.55) | ||||||
| 2019 | 37.8 | (2.51) | 16.8 | (1.84) | 12.6 | (1.65) | 5.9 | (1.18) | 90.3 | (4.79) | 10.9 | ! | (5.36) | 31.7 | (8.13) | 45.1 | (7.85) | |||||||
Public 2-year institutions |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990 | 61.2 | (1.94) | 19.1 | (1.57) | 31.2 | (1.85) | 9.2 | (1.15) | 81.5 | (2.17) | 4.1 | (1.12) | 24.9 | (2.42) | 51.1 | (2.80) | ||||||||
| 1995 | 52.9 | (1.97) | 15.6 | (1.43) | 25.3 | (1.72) | 10.9 | (1.23) | 81.1 | (2.21) | 6.1 | (1.35) | 32.5 | (2.64) | 40.5 | (2.77) | ||||||||
| 2000 | 63.9 | (1.79) | 20.6 | (1.51) | 29.9 | (1.71) | 11.9 | (1.21) | 85.5 | (2.09) | 9.9 | (1.77) | 30.0 | (2.72) | 44.9 | (2.95) | ||||||||
| 2005 | 54.2 | (1.69) | 15.6 | (1.23) | 24.2 | (1.46) | 13.4 | (1.16) | 82.0 | (2.20) | 10.8 | (1.77) | 25.8 | (2.50) | 44.8 | (2.84) | ||||||||
| 2010 | 40.6 | (1.90) | 14.0 | (1.20) | 19.1 | (1.50) | 6.8 | (0.78) | 74.7 | (2.51) | 11.6 | (1.93) | 30.1 | (2.86) | 31.0 | (3.08) | ||||||||
2012 |
41.2 | (1.76) | 12.0 | (1.17) | 19.8 | (1.44) | 8.4 | (0.95) | 66.1 | (2.98) | 8.3 | (1.60) | 30.0 | (2.70) | 26.9 | (2.79) | ||||||||
| 2013 | 41.8 | (1.89) | 13.8 | (1.37) | 20.5 | (1.55) | 7.1 | (1.05) | 71.1 | (3.02) | 8.8 | (1.92) | 29.8 | (2.85) | 31.2 | (3.09) | ||||||||
| 2014 | 45.0 | (2.28) | 15.9 | (1.57) | 21.3 | (1.82) | 6.9 | (0.91) | 77.5 | (2.64) | 15.2 | (2.35) | 28.3 | (3.35) | 32.4 | (3.58) | ||||||||
| 2015 | 44.9 | (2.08) | 15.1 | (1.44) | 21.8 | (1.64) | 7.5 | (1.08) | 75.1 | (3.03) | 11.4 | (2.54) | 36.6 | (3.66) | 26.7 | (3.20) | ||||||||
| 2016 | 45.6 | (2.01) | 15.4 | (1.51) | 22.4 | (1.70) | 7.5 | (1.14) | 78.2 | (3.23) | 10.7 | (2.31) | 33.0 | (3.46) | 33.4 | (3.33) | ||||||||
2017 |
46.8 | (2.30) | 14.9 | (1.47) | 22.9 | (1.91) | 7.9 | (1.22) | 81.0 | (2.85) | 14.0 | (2.46) | 33.0 | (3.47) | 32.7 | (3.47) | ||||||||
| 2018 | 44.2 | (2.14) | 13.0 | (1.37) | 20.4 | (1.68) | 9.4 | (1.32) | 74.2 | (3.14) | 10.4 | (2.15) | 33.8 | (3.34) | 29.5 | (3.20) | ||||||||
| 2019 | 45.3 | (2.30) | 11.8 | (1.45) | 22.2 | (1.62) | 10.1 | (1.43) | 87.3 | (2.75) | 10.7 | (2.35) | 41.1 | (4.11) | 34.9 | (3.73) | ||||||||
| †Not applicable. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| !Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Includes those who were employed but not at work during the survey week. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 Excludes those who were employed but not at work during the survey week; therefore, detail may not sum to total percentage employed. "Hours worked per week" refers to the number of hours worked at all jobs during the survey week. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NOTE: Students were classified as full time if they were taking at least 12 hours of classes (or at least 9 hours of graduate classes) during an average school week and as part time if they were taking fewer hours. Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons in the military and persons living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities). Prior to 2010, standard errors were computed using generalized variance function methodology rather than the more precise replicate weight methodology used in later years. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October, selected years, 1970 through 2019. (This table was prepared July 2021.) |
